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with the wired-in open area that stood maybe sixty yards away. “That’s the new aviary you mentioned?”
    “Uh-huh. Attila’s field is at the bottom of the hill beside the house, and the little barn you can see is where we feed the rabbits and stable the ponies. But let’s save the grand tour until after you unpack andchange. And then maybe you’d like a drink. There’s some Scotch that Gus used to say was smooth as silk.”
    Glancing at his watch, Nick discovered it was only four-thirty. He’d been up for so long it seemed later. “It’s a little early for something as strong as Scotch,” he said, “but a cold beer would go down fine.”
    They’d just started for the porch when a tremendous roar rattled his eardrums. He stopped dead, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Carly and the dogs continued along as if they were deaf.
    “What the hell was that?” he demanded, hurrying to catch up.
    “What was what?”
    “That noise.”
    “Oh, it was just Attila welcoming us home. He must have smelled us.”
    “From this distance?”
    Carly gave him another amused look. “Bears have an incredible sense of smell. They can scent things for miles. But he won’t mind if we don’t say hello until later.”
    Nick looked in the direction of the hill, half surprised to see the ground wasn’t vibrating. The last time he’d heard anything that loud he’d been in Costa Rica, watching the Arenal Volcano spew fire and boulders—and that had made him a little nervous, too.
    Following Carly the rest of the way to the house, he did his best to relax. After all, she’d told him she was perfectly fine with the bear, so there was no reason she’d need any help with it
    He just wished he didn’t have the sense there was something she hadn’t told him.
    C ARLY CHANGED INTO SHORTS , then went back downstairs and chatted with Crackers while she made a jug of iced tea. The parrot loved company and was papertrained. So, years ago, Gus had built a big solariumtype addition to the kitchen, and Crackers was pretty good about staying in it.
    “Treat!” he demanded as she stirred the tea.
    She cut him a wedge of apple, then poured herself a glass of tea and put the jug into the fridge, lingering in front of the open door and thinking how heavenly the coolness felt
    The house was too old to have central air, and Gus hadn’t liked air-conditioning anyway. He’d always said that even window units were for wimps, so she’d learned to live with the hot, muggy spell that inevitably settled in during July. But she’d far rather live without it.
    Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she dug a beer from the back of the fridge and reluctantly closed the door. When she turned, Nick was standing in the kitchen eyeing Crackers.
    “Is he usually out of his cage?” he asked.
    “Uh-huh. He really hates being in it during the day. But he stays in it at night. I think he worries that one of the cats might try a sneak attack while he’s asleep.”
    “Would they?”
    “I doubt it. And if they did, they’d regret it. Big macaws have incredibly strong beaks. He could amputate a man’s hand. But he wouldn’t,” she added quickly. “He loves people.”
    Nick nodded, although he didn’t look entirely convinced. Then he glanced at the beer she’d forgotten she was holding. “That looks good.”
    “And you look like a cowboy,” she said, handing him the bottle. “You also look even more like Gus. He always wore jeans and boots.”
    “Must be one of those things that run in families." Nick twisted the top off his beer and took a long, slow drink.
    Watching him, Carly felt an unexpected twinge of attraction. Oh, she’d realized earlier what a good-looking man he was. But it had been an in-the-abstract kind of awareness, because he hadn’t struck her as her type.
    Not that she exactly had a type. As she’d told him earlier, living out here meant her social life had never been exactly hectic. And there’d been nothing about any